Flavobacterium arsenitoxidans sp nov., an arsenite-oxidizing bacterium from Thai soil

An arsenite-oxidizing bacterium, strain S2-3H(T), was isolated from arsenic-contaminated soil sample collected from Dantchaeng district, Suphanburi province, Thailand and was characterized based on polyphasic taxonomic study. The strain was observed to be a Gram-stain negative, aerobic, yellow pigmented, non-spore forming and rod-shaped bacterium. Major menaquinone was MK-6. Iso-C-15:0, iso-C-15:0 3OH, C-16:1 omega 7c/C-16:1 omega 6c, C-16:0, iso-C-17:0 3OH, and C-16:0 3OH were the predominant cellular fatty acids. The polar lipid profile consisted of phosphatidylethanolamine, unidentified phospholipids and unidentified aminophospholipids. The DNA G+C content was 37.0 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis using 16S rRNA sequence showed that strain S2-3H(T) is affiliated to the genus Flavobacterium, and is closely related to F. defluvii KCTC 12612(T) (97.0 %) and F. johnsoniae NBRC 14942(T) (97.0 %). The strain S2-3H(T) could be clearly distinguished from the related Flavobacterium species by its physiological and biochemical characteristics as well as its phylogenetic position and DNA-DNA relatedness. Therefore, the strain represents a novel species of the genus Flavobacterium, for which the name Flavobacterium arsenitoxidans sp. nov. (type strain S2-3H(T) = KCTC 22507(T) = NBRC 109607(T) = PCU 331(T) = TISTR 2238(T)) is proposed.